Jerry Bruckheimer turns the lens of his celluloid cyclops away from exploding airplanes to exploding credit card debt in an adaptation of Confessions of a Shopaholic. There’s a scene in the trailer where our heroine has frozen her credit card in a block of ice (see “Stop Spending By Freezing Your Credit Card In Ice“) and, stricken by a frenzy, she chops and hacks at it and uses a blowdryer to free it. Sort of amusing, although most people I’ve read about who freeze their credit card usually don’t ever crack them open. Full trailer inside.

Haven’t seen the movie or read the book. Perhaps there’s a selfless reason why she’s opening open the frozen credit card. In movieland, that’s why we call a “round character.”

Also, judging by the trailer, their version of a “comeuppance” is for Becky to pad her resume and land a job at a personal finance magazine, and then fall in love with a wealthy young entrepreneur who shares her love of Prada. (Scene: “Oh my god, you speak Prada?” Their eyes meet. Kismet.)

Tales of money struggle, definitely a ripe area to till. Though I would of course prefer something much more raw and real, and punctures the hoax that you can debt your way to the good life, none of which you’re likely to find in a Chic Lit flick.

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@Jabberkaty: But only if you’re thin, attractive, and despite not having any skills or job history to speak of, can land a fabulous career (like buying shoes!) when it comes down to actually needing one.

@Jabberkaty: Hilarious! And, we have positive messages in this film – messages that ring true in this time of economic crisis. What shall we learn from the bad mortgage housing bubble? That those people were poor. But, with good taste and designer shoes, you can “Shop to the Top” and who cares about debt, then? Just marry a rich man and all your financial worries will disappear.

These are precisely the kind of values we need to get rid of. Women being told that they are worth nothing more than the clothes on their back, that actual hard work and skills aren’t relevant, but the kind of shoes they wear are, and that if you’re a man, your wife only married you so that she could pay off her debt – with your money. WTF?

@MissPeacock – I totally agree. The main character, Becky, INFURIATED me in that she never ever learns a lesson about her debt – something cutesy and magical always happens to get her out of trouble, or she blithely ignores it.

I read the first few of these as well. Basically because they were the only books in English where I happened to be. Once returning to an area with other books they were too painful to continue reading. She never, ever, ever learns a lesson: she always gets bailed out.

i think this will be sort of interesting. one of my grips with all of MTV’s super trendy shows (hills, in particular) is that they always show these girls shopping, going out to dinner, going out for drinks, and NEVER show the credit card transaction. as if it all just sort of happens, and it’s what you’re supposed to do. i’m happy that a movie is showing that you actually have to PAY for these things, and that alot of people are in the red because of these luxuries, and that it’s a ridiculous petty lifestyle, etc.

although i’m sure there is a happy ending of this women going to debtor’s anonymous, or getting a job and magically paying off her bills in a week, or something corny like that.

@SF_iris: True Life is about the only MTV show I can force myself to watch any more. It’s less horrible than, say, “Date my Mom” but sometimes I feel like it just shows people muddling along through their problems and nothing gets resolved.

Coincidentally enough, over Labor Day I saw an episode about compulsive shoppers. Neither of the two women featured were able to kick the habit.

@Dervish: I think I saw that episode (it was on at a friend’s house, not mine!) What infuriated me about it more than anything is that all of them except one girl were USING THEIR PARENTS’ CREDIT CARD! The parents whined and gave stern lectures about their spending, but in the end it came down to parents letting their snotty princesses do whatever they want without setting down any kind of limits or punishments.

@leprendun: Yes, and as I recall they tried to get her to go to counseling but she wasn’t having any of it. At what point does devotion to your offspring give way to anger at being taken for all you’re worth? I don’t have kids, but I’d like to think that my threshold is lower than theirs. A LOT lower.

Maybe more real world unlike the Hollywood films that show a extended “family” getting together for Thanksgiving in a seven bedroom huge home not close to other houses just outside of New York City and the homeowner father is a struggling writer or some such…. Yeah like they realy have the money for that $1.3million property in Greenwich, CT…

no.no.notorious -“they always show these girls shopping, going out to dinner, going out for drinks, and NEVER show the credit card transaction. as if it all just sort of happens, and it’s what you’re supposed to do” Sure isn’t that is what Paris Hilton does- or at least she has people to pay for her stuff – if she is not getting it for free or paid to appear as a publicity stunt… (Some may think her a “ho” but she or her handlers are smart enough to make even more money for a person who doesn’t more to start with)

I originally had a hard time reading this book because her spending made me so uncomfortable. But it is a cute, funny, unreal story. Yes, she has consequences of her spending, but never learns her lessons and always manages to get in trouble again. Can’t wait for the movie!

It is what it is — a decent beach read. It’s something for those days when you just feel like reading girly crap because it’s easy, because you feel superior to the characters, and because you need a break from legal thrillers and other whodunits.

It’s not meant to be a srong commentary on debt, other than the main character gets into a lot of it. It’s not meant to teach people how or when to use or not use a credit card. We’re supposed to see her excessive purchases and feel a tiny lurch in our stomach, along with “Thank god I can’t go quite hog-wild on my $40K income.”If you’re looking for finance tips, don’t watch this movie.

If you’re looking to watch a flick with “the girls” and can giggle at life and can tolerate some dumb fashion obsessions, maybe watch this movie.

@u2acro and @queenofdenial: I totally agree. Its a cute book and I was ridiclious and read all the others. I could read the books and know it was pure ficition but there is just no way I can go see this movie. It makes me cringe to watch the trailer and see what shes wearing and how much moneys she spends. She just never effin learns her lesson.

Anyone read the last one with the baby? Im scared its going to be too much for me.

I’m with the queen. My husband even got frustrated when I was reading this because I kept complaining about how self destructive this character was. Just keep reading ladies, don’t worry about your bills….

Actually, I read this book in college and it made me cringe so much at her spending habits and ensuing consequences (even if they weren’t that harsh) that it made me care about my financial situation (which was going south) because I didn’t want to end up in situations like her.

I read the horrible “book” (first in a series I suppose, yikes at the idea that there was a market for more than one) as a favor to my sister-in-law, who didn’t have time to read it but wanted to know if it was good reading material for her older daughter.

I told her no, just because the main character is a twit who is constantly rescued from disasters of her own making, only to learn absolutely nothing and go on to do something just as monumentally stupid. And essentially get rewarded for every deliberate mistake she makes. Horrible, horrible book about a terrible, unfortunately sort of realistic character.

Maybe her daughter could have read the book if given the information that she should take the main character as evidence of what NOT to do, but that would have been a rather unnatural lesson to take from the book in my opinion. Everything good that happened to the character in the book was a direct result of her acting like an irresponsible, spoiled rotten child.

I kept hoping they would just cart her off to whatever the modern-day version of debtor’s prison. THAT would have been a happy ending.